Fire starts on stove top

Eggs which boiled dry led to a full-scale fire in an
Invercargill flat yesterday.

Tenant Karen Officer (left) said she was doing a crossword
puzzle after putting a pot of eggs to boil on the stove. The
eggs boiled dry and then a tea towel caught fire, which made
her panic.

''I flung the tea towel away, and then the couch went on fire
. . . then I panicked and screamed.''

The fire on the corner of Heywood and Tanner Sts, in the
northern suburb of Grasmere, started about 10.15am. Landlord
and resident Russell Milligan said the fire started in the
middle unit of three adjoined flats.